The 11th Edition of the National Trial Advocacy and Judgment Writing Competition, 2022 Nyayavalokan, organized by SVKM’s Pravin Gandhi College of Law took place from 6th October, 2022 — 9th October, 2022.
The Inauguration Ceremony was on 6th October, 2022 wherein the Chief speaker Justice S.P. Davare and the Keynote Speaker Advocate Satish B. Talekar addressed the Participants.
The Preliminary Round 1 took place on 7th October, 2022 followed by the Preliminary Round 2. The combined total of the performance of the two rounds saw 8 teams qualifying for the Quarter Final Round. The Quarter Final Round took place on 8th October, 2022.
The semi-Final and Final Rounds on 9th October, 2022. The contest had thereafter boiled down to the top 4, as the Semi-Final Rounds of the competition began.
The judges for the Semi-Final Rounds were Adv. Rati Amrolia, Adv. Niranjan Mundargi, Adv. Mukesh Modi and Adv. Anil Lalla.
Two courtrooms constitute the setup for the Semi-Final Rounds with two qualifying teams in each courtroom, one as the counsels for the prosecution and one as counsels for defense.
The witnesses were briefed beforehand and trained to take a firm stand when called to the witness box since witnesses are an integral part of any trial. Based on the scores of this Round, the two highest-scoring teams entered the Final Round of the competition
A researcher from each of the 20 participating teams witnessed the proceedings of the Semi-Final Rounds. Based on the contentions of both sides, each researcher had to pen down a judgment. This judgment was expected to include all the essentials a good judgment does. Based on that factor and several other criteria, the judges of the Semi-Final Rounds selected the best two judgments. The Judgment Writing Competition was introduced with an aim to better the analytical and inferring skills of the participants. As students of Law, interpretation of Law and connecting the same with the relevant facts becomes an integral aspect of the process and the Judgment Writing Competition is a step towards inculcating that very habit in future legal practitioners.
The last leg of the competition, the Final Round of the contest was held in the Moot Court Room of SVKM’s Pravin Gandhi College of Law. The bench that was called to judge the Final was chaired by currently sitting judge of the Bombay High Court. The Hon’ble Judge for the Final Round of Nyayavalokan was Honourable Justice Shri M.N Jadhav.
The top 2 teams gave their best in the final rounds, impressing the judge greatly. The closing statements of the counsels from both sides were so strong, that it was a tough choice for the bench to select one team which prevailed over the other.
The Valedictory and Prize Distribution Ceremony was held as soon as the Finals were over. The Honourable Justice of the Bombay High Court felicitated the winners of Competition.
The full list of winners of the 11th Edition of the National Trial Advocacy and Judgment Writing Competition of SVKM’s Pravin Gandhi College of Law, Nyayavalokan 2022, is as follows:
Best Team – Government Law College, Mumbai
Second Best Team (Runners Up) — Christ (Deemed to be University), Bangalore
Best Judgment – Aashka Zaveri, Symbiosis School of Law, Pune
Best Judgment – Divyanshi Maheshwari, Institute of Law, Nirma University
Best Speaker — Abhishek Anshkumar Singh, Thakur Ramnarayan College of Law, Mumbai
Second Best Speaker – Lubaina Sutarwala, Government Law College, Mumbai
The Hon’ble Justice then addressed the gathering and shared a few words of wisdom. The Lordship stressed on the importance of trials and how it forms the base for any legal proceeding. They also emphasized on how every aspiring lawyer should give importance to their studies and reading. Justice Jadhav delved upon the importance of understanding the basics of any subject in order to become masters of the same. He also motivated and encouraged budding lawyers to set a goal for themselves and work passionately in order to achieve them.
The address by the Judges was followed by the Core Committee of the Moot Court Society delivering the official closing address of the 11th Edition of Nyayavalokan. The Chairperson of the Moot Court Society, Ms. Anushka Mansharamani thanked the entire staff of Pravin Gandhi College of Law, teaching and non-teaching, the Organising Committee of Nyayavalokan, the Advisory Committee of Nyayavalokan, the sponsors and finally all the Judges and Participants who extended their unconditional support and cooperation to make the Competition a success. A special thank you was extended towards the faculty in-charge of the Moot Court Society of Pravin Gandhi College of Law, Dr. Geeta Kubsad for being the backbone of the Organising Team of the event.
With this, the Core and Organising Committee of the 11th Edition of the National Trial Advocacy and Judgment Writing Competition of SVKM’s Pravin Gandhi College of Law, Nyayavalokan 2022 signed off, promising to come back with a Nyayavalokan 2023 much grander and bigger.
